This is a build for Rammus to be the main tank and to be taking all the hits for your team. With this build you will be focusing the hard hitting opponents and taunting them to get them away from your squishy dps/mages so that they can live and deal damage to the other team.

Rammus is kind of a tricky character. He is difficult to play the first time around but is extremely fun! Don't expect too many kills in your first few games but once you get the hang of it you will constantly be getting more kills than deaths.

With this build you will be basically indestructible late game and be able to take hits from 3 to 4 opponents at once. You will live as well as get many kills and be a huge help to your team. The opposite team will fear you and run away from you to try to escape your taunt because they know that once they are taunted...they're gone.

Spiked Shell (passive)
Rammus gains additional damage as his shell becomes reinforced, converting 25% of his armor into damage.
-This is an amazing passive because while you are stacking your armor, you are also getting more attack damage. But this doesn't work for magic resistance.

Powerball
Rammus accelerates in a ball towards his enemies, dealing magic damage and causing reduced movement speed to nearby enemies on impact.
Cooldown: 11 seconds
Range: 300
Cost: 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 Mana
Magic Damage: 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 (+1 per ability power)
Slow: 28 / 36 / 44 / 52 / 60%
-This is an amazing skill for a tank because many tanks are slow. But with powerball you are one of the fastest (if not THE fastest) character in the game. It also hits pretty hard and is great for initiating a fight. I also use it to hit enemies who are running away as it will slow their movement speed drastically. I only put 1 skill into this early game to use to get places fast. Your ball curl and taunt are your main skills so we will focus leveling up those first. You can also click powerball again at any time to stop spinning.

Defensive Ball Curl
Rammus goes into a defensive formation for 6 seconds, increasing his armor and magic resistance and returning magic damage to attackers.
Cooldown: 15 seconds
Range: 300
Armor and Magic Resistance: 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 / 150
Magic Damage: 26 / 32 / 38 / 44 / 50 (+0.25 per ability power)
Cost: 50 / 50 / 50 / 50 / 50 Mana
-This is your main skill and we will be building this one up first. This skill is great and will make you virtually indestructible. It has a low cooldown (as it cools down while active so really only a 8-9 second cooldown) and low mana cost. Rammus is one of the hardest tank to kill with this ability active.

Puncturing Taunt
Rammus taunts the unit into a reckless assault, reducing their armor and forcing them to attack Rammus for a few seconds.
Cooldown: 9 seconds
Range: 325
Armor Reduced: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30
Duration: 1 / 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 seconds
Cost: 50 / 65 / 80 / 95 / 110 mana
-This is Rammus' best and most fun attack. If used properly it can turn the tides of a battle. It forces an opponent to attack you which means that they can't run away, they can't hit your team mates, and they can't use their abilities which means that you and your team can hit them as much as they want for 3 seconds. It is great for helping team mates when they are in trouble or to chase down an enemy with powerball and then taunt them to attack you and kill them. It is also great to use near your turrets as the turrets will attack them as well.

One thing to note is that Cleanse will stop your taunt but stunning you wont. If you get stunned they will still continue to unwillingly hit you. Take note of everyone who has cleanse on the opposite team before the game starts and just be careful when trying to taunt them as they could break free.

Tremors
Rammus creates tremors beneath him, dealing magic damage per second to nearby units and structures.
Duration: 8 seconds.
Range: 300
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Magic Damage: 65 / 130 / 195 (+0.3 per ability power)
Cost: 120 / 120 / 120 Mana
-This ultimate is great. It has so many uses. You can use it to help you take down towers. You can use it with your sunfire cape and run next to people while they are running away to greatly damage them (It also works while in your powerball form.) Or you can just use it in huge team fights to damage everyone around you. And don't be afraid to use it on a large group of minions to get some quick extra gold. It has a fairly short cooldown so is nice in many situations.

You will be getting a Doran's Shield and a health pot to start to give you a great boost at the beginning of the game and allow you to lane for a long time. Then get your Boots of Speed. After this you should finish your boots into either Mercury Treads or Ninja Tabi depending on the situation. I usually go for Mercury Treads as it helps with crowd control effects but the Ninja Tabi will also go well with your passive.

Start getting your Sunfire Cape after you have full boots. You want to try to get Sunfire Cape as soon as possible to give you more health and armor and help you farm creeps. (Sunfire Cape is a must for any Rammus build.) After this point I usually get Thornmail first but if the other team is heavy magic then I will sometimes get Force of Nature first.

At the end of the game I usually get a Guardian Angel but you can get a Banchee's Veil for more magic resistance if the other team is heavy casters or an Atma's Impaler if the other team is very squishy and you need more damage. With your 3000+ health at the end of the game, and 45 armor, the Atma's Impaler will give Rammus another 70+ attack damage. While Banchee's Veil is a really goood item, I tend not to get it for Rammus because it makes the enemies not want to attack you and this is bad for a tank. You always want them to attack you first.

Early Game
Early game I try to just sit back and farm as much as I can. Rammus is not a very good farmer before he gets his Sunfire Cape so try to last hit minions as much as possible (use defensive curl if necessary). If your partner is aggressive then you can help them out but farm as much as you can as well. If they get close to your turret, taunt them. If they are really aggressive near your turret, put some more points into taunt early game for a longer taunt effect. I go with a ruby to start to make your Heart of Gold cheaper when you go back but if you feel you need the health regen, you can start with a Regrowth pendant. But Doran's Shield is not necessary as your masteries give you pretty good health regen already.

Mid Game
Help your team mates push turrets. After lvl 10-11 you can tower dive quite effectively and can tank a turret while you and your team mates take it down. Your ult can also damage turrets so have it on while your hitting the turret. Be careful though with your ult and your defensive ball curl because if your ult hits an opponent or if they hit you while you have your ball curl on, the turret will focus you. You can afford some hits but be careful you don't get too low on health.

Late Game
After lvl 16 you won't have a problem tanking turrets or tower diving. Go for the kill if you can catch up to an opponent behind a turret. With your power ball you can catch up to almost any opponent. If you need that extra boost, use your flash while you use power ball and hit your opponent to slow him then taunt and kill. At this point in the game you should always be in the action helping your team mates. Your team needs a tank to initiate and you are it.

I used to go with Flash and cleanse but since cleanse has been nuked I would go with Flash and Ghost. Flash to either use with powerball to give me that extra boost for a kill or to flash through a wall to escape or chase someone. Cleanse is still a possibility to get rid of unwanted Crowd Control effects (like Ashe's arrow or Malzahar's stun ultimate). You can take alot of damage but if you get stunned before you get your defence curl up, you could be out of the fight before anything happens. Without a tank your team will be helpless.

I highly recommend the mana regen runes or else you will find that you will run out of mana quite a bit. If not, you could get a Soul Shroud or a chalice for some mana regen or a Frozen Heart/Banchee's Veil for more mana. Then just switch these for dodge runes. You could even go for Clarity if felt needed but I don't feel it is necessary.

As for the magic pen runes. You can change these for magic resist runes but I prefer the extra damage to help me get kills. If you get Mercury Treads and Force of Nature, you wont have a problem with magic resist.

With this build you will be a heavy tank and will be a force to be reckoned with. Comments are always appreciated as I try to make my guides as best I can and love any kind of positive feedback. Now go take the fight into your own hands and destroy everything in your path! :D

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